The Holocaust, as described in the book "Ordinary Men" by Christopher Browning, involved Reserve Police Battalion 101, a group of men unfit for frontline warfare but capable of holding jobs under normal circumstances. These men, aged around 39, were part of the German war effort tasked with solving the leadership's problem with Jews by systematically killing every Jewish man, woman, and child in their area of operations in Poland. Over parts of 1942 and 1943, they killed at least 38,000 Jews and loaded 45,200 others onto trains bound for prison camps where they were killed. The German personnel maintained detailed records of these operations, showcasing the efficiency and accuracy of their actions. The executioners in Battalion 101 were not professional soldiers but ordinary men who learned their murderous responsibilities through doing. They did not confess to any professional hatred for Jews, and the killing was extremely stressful, often carried out while drunk. The German leadership did not force these men to kill, and there was no threat of death for refusing to execute Jews. Despite this, hardly any Germans refused the responsibility, influenced by the collective forces and rationalizing their actions as following orders and participating in the war effort. The position of executioner was voluntary, viewed by the recruits as a burden of warfare that almost all eventually took turns carrying out, even if unwillingly. Some men managed not to kill for a time but still encouraged others to continue, fearing being seen as morally superior or cowardly by their peers. This dynamic highlights how these men rationalized their participation in the Holocaust, influenced by their worldview and the authority of their nation and its leadership.

The final stage mentioned is elimination, which parallels what Hitler did during the Holocaust. In the Holocaust, the offenders were removed under the guise of benefiting the greater good of the nation. Although the United States has not reached this stage, the direction suggests a progression towards it.

The Holocaust began with Kristallnacht on November 9, 1938, when the SA, unleashed by Adolf Hitler, killed 91 people, burned over 1,000 synagogues, and destroyed over 7,000 Jewish businesses across Germany. The Jewish people were forced to pay for the damages caused by the Nazis. This event is recognized as the start of the Holocaust. During World War II, in a small city in Poland, the local citizens marched the Jewish population to a field and began systematically murdering them. Deeming this too slow, they herded the remaining Jews into a barn, set it on fire, and killed over 1,700 Jewish men, women, and children. Initially, the Poles falsely claimed that the Nazis were responsible, but the truth was discovered years later. These events illustrate how people can act as beasts rather than beings created in the image of God. God tests men to see that they are but beasts, indicating that without living a life that glorifies God and prepares for the afterlife, one gains nothing of true value despite any worldly wealth or power.